French police raid an apartment in Saint Denis following attacks that killed 129 people in Paris last week. Live updates from Paris and around the world.

Suspects in Saint Denis apartment planned attack on Paris La Defense business district - source close to inquiry

by jamillah.knowles11/18/2015 9:23:51 AM

Gunfire erupts in Paris as police move in on more suspects linked to last week's gun and bomb attacks, including the alleged mastermind.

by jamillah.knowles11/18/2015 9:28:54 AM

PARIS, Nov 18 (Reuters) - The suspected Islamic State militants holed up in a northern Paris apartment following a raid by French police had planned an attack on La Defense business district in Paris, a source close to the investigation said on Wednesday.

Gunfire and explosions shook the Paris suburb of Saint-Denis early on Wednesday as French police surrounded an apartment where a Belgian Islamist militant suspected of masterminding last week's attacks in the French capital was believed to be holed up.

by jamillah.knowles11/18/2015 9:29:42 AM

Turkey, U.S. to intensify drive to push IS from Syria border - minister

ISTANBUL, Nov 18 (Reuters) - Turkey and the United States will intensify operations aimed at flushing Islamic State militants from a strip of northern Syria's border with Turkey in the coming days, Turkish Foreign Minister Feridun Sinirlioglu was quoted as saying on Wednesday.

The fight against the radical jihadists has taken on a new intensity since attacks claimed by the group killed 129 people in Paris last week and a bomb downed a Russian airliner over Egypt's Sinai Peninsula last month, killing 224. Both French and Russian war planes have stepping up air strikes in Syria. (Full Story)

"We will not allow Daesh to continue its presence on our border," Sinirlioglu was quoted as saying by the state-run Anadolu Agency, using the Arabic acronym for Islamic State.

"We have long continued air operations in that region with the United States ... We have certain plans to terminate the Daesh presence on our border. Once these plans are finalised, our operations will intensify. You will see this in the coming days," he said.

Nov 18 (Reuters) - France and Belgium are striving to establish the identities of the attackers and chief suspects in the attacks that killed at least 129 people in Paris on Friday Nov. 13.

On Wednesday morning, elite police launched an assault on a flat in Saint Denis, north of Paris. The public prosecutor's office said during the operation that a woman inside the flat blew herself up and police took three men into custody. They also detained a man and a woman, both unarmed, near the flat.

by jamillah.knowles11/18/2015 9:50:19 AM

Attackers identified as dead:

Ismail Omar Mostefai, 29 (born Nov. 21, 1985), Frenchman of Algerian descent involved in Bataclan concert hall attack, lived for a time in Chartres area, southwest of Paris. Born in Courcouronnes, south of Paris. Source: prosecutor's office/judiciary sources. Name was put on French intelligence services' "S notice" in 2010 for reported radicalisation. An unnamed senior Turkish government official says Turkey contacted France about Mostefai in December 2014 and June 2015 but only got a return request for information on him after the Paris attacks. (Full Story). Members of his family were released from custody after questioning.

Samy Amimour, 28 (born Oct. 15, 1987), involved in Bataclan attack. French, from Drancy near Saint Denis, north of Paris. Subject of international arrest warrant since late 2013. Had been under official investigation since October 2012 on suspicion of terrorism-related activity over a plan to go to Yemen. Source: Paris prosecutor's office statement.

Brahim Abdeslam, 31 (born July 30, 1984), French, resident of Belgium. Blew himself up at Comptoir Voltaire cafe in Paris. Brother of Salah Abdeslam, a key suspect still at large. Source: French judiciary.

Other: Suicide bomber involved in Stade de France attack. Passport found beside this dead body carries name of Ahmad Al Mohammad, 25, (born Sept. 10 1990), from Idlib, northwest Syria. Passport being checked but fingerprints match up with print of a person registered under that name as arriving in Greece in October 2015. Source: French prosecutor's office.

Other: Possible third, unnamed, suicide bomber who died in Stade de France attacks. Source: police notice showing photo and asking people to help identify the person.

by jamillah.knowles11/18/2015 9:52:09 AM

Key suspects at large:

Abdelhamid Abaaoud, Belgian, the suspected mastermind of the attacks. Source: French judiciary. Abaaoud is a resident of Molenbeek district of Brussels. Also named by media last year as 27-year-old elder brother of a 13-year-old boy who left Belgium to become a fighter in Syria.

Salah Abdeslam, 26, French, born in Brussels, Sept. 15, 1989. Source: notice published by French police/police sources. Suspected of having rented black VW Polo car used in attacks in Paris. Lawyer Xavier Carette told Belgian broadcaster RTBF that Abdeslam returned from Paris to Brussels on Saturday morning after being stopped by French police three times along the way. Abdeslam had called his client, Mohammad Amri, two hours after the attacks and said his car had broken down, Carette said. Amri drove through the night, accompanied by Hamza Attouh, to fetch him. Belgian media gave their ages as 27 and 21 respectively.

by jamillah.knowles11/18/2015 9:52:38 AM

DETAINED:

Belgium Two of seven people arrested in Nov. 14 raids were detained on terrorism charges. Lawyer Xavier Carette told RTBF his client Mohammad Amri and a friend were unwitting accomplices who knew nothing about any role in attacks when Amri drove Salah Abdeslam back from Paris to Brussels. Mohammad Abdeslam, brother of Salah and Brahim (dead), was among five released after preliminary questioning. Much of the attention has focussed on Molenbeek, a poor Brussels district that is home to many Muslim immigrants

Two dead, seven arrests in police raid on Saint-Denis apartment-source

PARIS, Nov 18 (Reuters) - Two people holed up in a flat in the Paris suburb of Saint-Denis have died and seven have been arrested so far in an ongoing police raid, a source close to the investigation said on Wednesday.

A woman blew herself up at the house during the raid, Paris prosecutor's office had said earlier on Wednesday. French media said a sniper had killed the second person but the source said it was too early to say.

Paris prosecutor's office had said earlier that five people were being held for questioning. Two more have been arrested, the source said.

by jamillah.knowles11/18/2015 10:29:45 AM

Saint Denis police raid has finished - police source

by jamillah.knowles11/18/2015 10:39:49 AM

French Government spokesman confirms that the police raid at Saint Denis is now over.

by jamillah.knowles11/18/2015 10:43:46 AM

French medical rescue workers evacuate an injured member of police forces during an operation at the scene in Saint-Denis, near Paris, France, November 18, 2015 to catch fugitives from Friday night's deadly attacks in the French capital. REUTERS/Benoit Tessier

German officials had concrete indications of a security threat that led them to call off Tuesday night's soccer game between Germany and the Netherlands, the premier of the state of Lower Saxony said on Wednesday.

"There was a concrete indication about concrete dangers based on confidential and secret information," said Stephan Weil, premier of Lower Saxony, which is home to Hanover, where the match was called off two hours before its scheduled start on Tuesday.

A view of the Hannover Soccer Arena in the morning after a soccer friendly match betweenGermany and the Netherlands was called off over bomb fears, in Hannover, November 18,2015.REUTERS/Axel Schmidt

by jamillah.knowles11/18/2015 10:56:41 AM

White House official says that President Obama has asked to be kept update on the French law enforcement operation.

by jamillah.knowles11/18/2015 10:59:29 AM

French special police forces evacuate family members from the building where police raided an apartment in Saint-Denis. REUTERS/Benoit Tessier

"I hope the change in the position of our Western colleagues, which has unfortunately only come about as the result of terrible acts of terror, will spread to other Western partners. That the stance that the real battle with Islamic State can only be resolved once the fate of Assad is clear, that this position will put to one side" - Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov

Hollande says a grand coalition is needed to hit Islamic State, even if the interests of each country in Syria are not the same.

by jamillah.knowles11/18/2015 12:21:24 PM

British Prime Minister David Cameron says - it is always preferable to have the backing of the U.N. security council, but any action we may take in Syria would be legal.

by jamillah.knowles11/18/2015 12:22:56 PM

Hollande calls on world to put aside national interest, fight Islamic State

PARIS, Nov 18 (Reuters) - French President Francois Hollande called on the international community on Wednesday to set aside their sometimes diverging national interests and join a grand coalition against hardline militant group Islamic State.

"We must form a vast coalition, to hit Daesh decisively," Hollande told an assembly of city mayors using the Arabic acronym for Islamic State.

"The international community must rally around that spirit. I know very well that each country doesn't have the same interests," he added.

by jamillah.knowles11/18/2015 12:35:57 PM

French President Francois Hollande (C), followed by Prime Minister Manuel Valls (R) leave at the end of the weekly cabinet meeting at the Elysee Palace in Paris, France, November 18, 2015. REUTERS/Charles Platiau

by jamillah.knowles11/18/2015 12:37:18 PM

Obama asks Russia to focus on defeating ISIS

by jamillah.knowles11/18/2015 12:37:40 PM

UK's Cameron says UN resolution on Syria preferable but action would be legal

LONDON, Nov 18 (Reuters) - The backing of the United Nations Security Council would be preferable for any British military action against Islamic State militants in Syria but is not vital, British Prime Minister David Cameron said on Wednesday.

Britain is involved in air strikes against IS militants in Iraq and Cameron has said he will present a plan to parliament including extending air strikes to Syria. (Full Story)

"Russia has different aims to us and they have repeatedly threatened to veto any such resolution," he told parliament when asked if he would wait for a U.N. resolution before taking action.

"Of course it is always preferable in these circumstances to have the full backing of the United Nations Security Council but I have to say what matters most of all is that any action we would take would both be legal and would help protect our country."

by jamillah.knowles11/18/2015 12:39:10 PM

A raid of a Paris suburb ended with two dead and seven arrested. The target of the raid was a Belgian Islamist militant suspected of planning last week's attacks. Rough Cut (no reporter narration).

European investors edged back into safer assets on Wednesday as a shootout between French police and militants suspected of involvements in the Paris attacks kept the market focused on international security issues.

Stocks fell and yields on government bonds dipped, but the scale of the moves reflected caution rather than significant concern, economists said.Read more.

by jamillah.knowles11/18/2015 1:10:57 PM

A member of the French judicial police unit speaks on the phone at the raid scene in Saint-Denis, near Paris, France, November 18, 2015 to catch fugitives from Friday night's deadly attacks in the French capital. REUTERS/Benoit Tessier

by jamillah.knowles11/18/2015 1:26:38 PM

Members of French special police forces of the Research and Intervention Brigade (BRI) and forensic experts are seen near a raid zone in Saint-Denis, near Paris, France, November 18, 2015 during an operation to catch fugitives from Friday night's deadly attacks in the French capital. REUTERS/Christian Hartmann

"Of course it is always preferable in these circumstances to have the full backing of the United Nations Security Council but I have to say what matters most of all is that any action we would take would both be legal and would help protect our country." - UK PM David Cameron.

"We witnessed things that are difficult to describe," Rabboh, 36, told Reuters, speaking in Arabic through an interpreter. "You walk in the street and someone falls dead right in front of you."

Theirs is a story that could be easily lost in the U.S. political backlash against Syrian refugees that has been stirred by reports one of the militants involved in last Friday's deadly attacks in Paris may have hidden among the migrant flow.Read more.

Turkey detains eight at Istanbul airport on suspicion of links to Islamic State

ISTANBUL, Nov 18 (Reuters) - Turkish police have detained eight people at Istanbul's main Ataturk airport on suspicion of having links with Islamic State, the state-run Anadolu Agency reported on Wednesday.

The group said they were coming from Casablanca, Morocco, late on Tuesday for a vacation in Istanbul and that they had reservations at a hotel, but police found no evidence of their booking, Anadolu reported.

The authorities in Turkey have detained more than 1,000 people on suspected links to Islamist militants since the beginning of the year, in raids that have been stepped up since Ankara declared what it described as a "synchronised war on terror" in July. Around 300 have been formally charged.

Police also detained 41 people at Ataturk airport earlier this month after a tip-off from a fellow passenger on their flight from Morocco, 20 of whom were immediately deported.

Citing police sources, Anadolu said the authorities found a piece of paper on one of the individuals detained late on Tuesday with a drawing that outlined a plan of how to get to Germany by bus, boat and train.

The fight against the radical jihadists has taken on a new intensity since attacks claimed by the group killed 129 people in Paris last week.

by jamillah.knowles11/18/2015 2:02:03 PM

Reuters Correspondent Andy Sullivan details the Pentagon campaign to take out ISIS's oil operation, from which it gets most of its funding.

Abdelhamid Abaaoud, suspected planner of the Paris attacks, mocked European frontier controls and boasted of the ease with which he could move between Syria to his Belgian homeland and the rest of Europe.

As police piece together how militants mounted Friday's assaults, evidence that some involved had fought in Syria and were on wanted lists, yet slipped back to kill 129 people, will raise a host of questions on how Europe tracks local Islamists and controls the borders it has opened to half a million Syrian refugees.Read more.

WASHINGTON No negotiations can be held with North Korea until it improves its behavior, a White House official said on Wednesday, raising questions about U.S. Secretary of State Rex Tillerson's offer to begin talks with Pyongyang any time and without pre-conditions. | Video

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